Above is Shane’s prizewinning photo. He writes, “My two year old daughter Mai Ly and I tuned up and performed a brake job on my ‘94 Jeep Grand Cherokee 24 hours before I deployed to Afghanistan for a year. She and I are inseparable. Definitely daddy's little girl!”

“YOU CAN BUY AUTO RESTORATION GEAR ALL DAY LONG BUT, Eastwood’s the only company I know that gives deep info on how to do award winning work.”

Shane Mason is a soldier who recently returned from a 1-year tour in Afghanistan. Shane won big in Eastwood’s Gearwrench Giveaway photo contest. He told us of his project Jeeps as well as his appreciation of the deep how-to auto restoration information Eastwood gives.

“I’m in the US Army, the Delaware Army National Guard. We were called up to deploy to Afghanistan for a year for Operation Enduring Freedom. The people of Afghanistan are very appreciative of our support for their culture. In civilian life, I work for the Delaware National Guard as a logistics specialist.

I like Jeep Grand Cherokees. They have V-8s in them, they’re the right size, they have 4-wheel drive, and I’ve managed to pick them up cheap. I have a ’93, a ’94 Grand Wagoneer – same vehicle body but it has wood grain on the sides. And I’ve got a ’95 Orvis edition Grand Cherokee.

“I wanted a reliable vehicle for my wife while I was in Afghanistan”

I wanted to have a good second vehicle for my wife while I was in Afghanistan; something reliable. I purchased my ’94 with a V-8 5.2 liter engine for $350. It had a good body and a decent interior but the drive train needed to be redone. I found another vehicle with very low mileage that had the same drive train but had been rolled. I broke down the engine and transmission, rebuilt them myself, put it all back together again in the ’94 Jeep.

“Eastwood’s deep tech info motivates a layman like me.”

The information Eastwood gives in their catalogs and website is the biggest thing for me. It motivates me to get to the finish line with my vehicle projects. Eastwood’s the only company I know that gives that kind of how-to detail on all their products – under coatings, chassis paints, high temperature engine paints and everything else that makes a restoration easier for the layman like me.

My father and I purchased an Eastwood turbine paint spraying system and there are articles in the Eastwood catalog that tell how to use this system to get award-winning results. You can purchase restoration gear all day long but what Eastwood does is offer products plus information on how to use them and the results you’ll get.

Everybody wants to do projects the best they can but laymen don’t know how the professionals do it. Eastwood is among the professionals who know how to get things done. So when they offer the techniques, that information is very valuable.

“I’m at the metalwork stage and looking to Eastwood for information”

I have more project cars that all need paint and body work. Jeeps and a ‘69 Road Runner. I’m at the metalwork stage so I’m looking at Eastwood’s information on metal techniques that can help me make my projects outstanding. Eastwood’s epoxy primers, metal treatment and rust inhibitor products.

I read about Eastwood’s new spot-weld kit for a MIG welder while I was in Afghanistan. And I keep coming back to the Eastwood site to find out what new techniques can I pick up.

My advice for others? Don’t give up. Many folks have project cars that have been sitting for a while but don’t give up on them. One day you’ll look at it and all those emotions you felt when you first saw the car will come back to you. It’s all about timing. Stay with it and ask questions when you need help. There are a lot of folks out here in the auto hobby who’ll work with you including Eastwood. You can call their tech line and get some good, honest feedback on the best way to go about working on a project you’ve got going.”

— Shane Mason, Delaware

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